Do you want to buy a whole, half or quarter of a cow? Devine Gardens ask $5.60 per pound hanging weight for whole and half cows. That includes standard processing. Hanging weight averages 500 pounds. For a whole cow plan on 67% (roughly 335 pounds) of beef. That figure includes some bone-in steaks and roasts. It does not include soup bones (approx. 30#) and organ meat (approx.15#). 335 pounds of beef would take approx. 10 cubic feet of freezer space.
Whole cow with processing cost is approximately $2,800.00. Half cow with processing cost is approximately $1,400.00.
Quarter of a cow is $5.75 per pound, approx. $719.00
We ask for a 25% non-refundable deposit.
To decide what cuts you want, it will be helpful to think about what beef dishes you like to eat. Also, think about how many servings you would like. Keep in mind how many people in your family and if you like leftovers or not. Some people eat a lot and others don't. Do people go back for seconds? How many hamburgers do they eat at a meal? People who are physically active easily eat 2 burgers. I get 3 burgers to the pound. Does that sound about right, or do you like them bigger or smaller?
For my family, I would need two pounds for 4 adults. My husband and I eat a 3+ pound chuck roast over 2 meals. We really like beef. Does that sound like you? Something else to think about is do you want this beef to last past the warmer months? We tend to eat hamburgers and steaks more in summer. In the cold months, we tend to eat different types of roasts such as pot roasts and Sunday dinner roasts with mashed potatoes and gravy. What type of roasts were you thinking of? Tender roasts to slice or more like pot roasts? Hamburger is good all year round so that's easy. When you look at the beef cut chart you will see that the rib, loin and sirloin sections which can be cut into steaks or roasts.
A half of beef will give you about 6 t-bone steaks, 7 porterhouse steaks, 10 rib-eye steaks, and 5 sirloin steaks cut 1" thick. All of those could be made into roasts instead. Or you can make some roasts and some steaks. Roasts from the round section such as the top round and eye of round make tender roasts if roasted correctly. Think about what’s more important to you: convenience or flexibility. An example is pieces from the chuck roast, sirloin, and round can be cut into chunks or strips by the butcher or you can plan on a few extra minutes and do it yourself. (some cuts have an extra fee per pound). Going by sections
• Chuck section – can be made into chuck roasts, chuck steaks, beef chunks, ground beef, strips, cube steaks, kabobs. Premium cuts also come from this section such as chuck eye roast, chuck eye steaks (delmonico), Denver steaks, ranch steaks, shoulder petite tender, and flat iron steaks.
• Rib section – can be made into ribeye roast or ribeye steaks
• Loin section – can be made into porterhouse steaks, t-bone steaks, strip steak, tenderloin steak (filet mignon), strip petite roast or tenderloin roasts
• Sirloin section – can be made into sirloin steaks, tri tip sirloin filet, roast, strips, kabobs, sandwich steaks, and ground beef
• Round section – can be made into top round roast, bottom round roast, eye of round roast, round steaks, strips, kabobs, sandwich steaks, and ground beef. Roasts from the round section such as the top round and eye of round make tender roasts if roasted correctly.
• Brisket section – briskets (amazing) or ground beef
• Plate & flank section – skirt steak, flank steak, and ground beef. Skirt, flank and flap are delicious marinated, grilled and thinly sliced. Or use a rub or even just coat with salt and let them sit a few hours or overnight.
• Ribs from beef – so many things you can do with these for top notch meals.